Jeff Testerman is an investigative reporter now retired from the St. Petersburg Times, where he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize five times. The newspaper’s investigation exposing the U.S. Navy Veterans charity scheme earned the Investigative Reporters and Editors top award for public service. Daniel M. Freed is a senior producer for CNBC’s white-collar crime documentary series American Greed. His television and print work has been aired or published by PBS, Current TV, Amazon Prime Video, and the Los Angeles Times.

“If you want to know how white-collar criminals get away with heinous crimes in broad daylight, read Call Me Commander, the shocking tale of a massive fraud that wasn’t discovered until some savvy journalists looked into the matter.”-Renato Mariotti, former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst “This is the saga of the phony ‘Commander Bobby Thompson,’ who paid esteemed lawyers and famous politicians to help him swindle tens of millions with a bogus veterans charity. It is also the inside story of tenacious reporters who brought down a colossal con and revealed the stunning true identity of the character behind it. The narrative sends a powerful message: now, more than ever, journalists are needed to help distinguish between what is real and what is fake in American life.”-Dan Casey, columnist for the Roanoke Times “A wild ride and timely reminder that grifters love to prey on patriotism.”-Spencer Ackerman, senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast “Call Me Commander is a riveting account of one of the most twisted con men ever to hustle a buck in Florida, and nobody can tell this tale better than veteran investigative reporter Jeff Testerman, who first exposed the scam, and broadcast journalist Daniel Freed, who discovered the conman's secrets after his capture.”-Craig Pittman, author of the New York Times bestseller Oh, Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country “Call Me Commander shows how [Bobby Thompson’s] scam was constructed and how it unraveled when reporters began investigating. It might also be a cautionary tale about future cons when there are no more local journalists to investigate these scams.”-Frank Abagnale, subject of the book and movie, Catch Me If You Can “Call Me Commander is a classic piece of investigative journalism. It’s the type of work we grew up admiring, but, regrettably-because of declining newspaper revenues-is fading into our past.”-Robert E. O’Neill, managing director of Freeh Group International Solutions and former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida

Jeff Testerman is an investigative reporter now retired from the St. Petersburg Times, where he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize five times. The newspaper’s investigation exposing the U.S. Navy Veterans charity scheme earned the Investigative Reporters and Editors top award for public service. Daniel M. Freed is a senior producer for CNBC’s white-collar crime documentary series American Greed. His television and print work has been aired or published by PBS, Current TV, Amazon Prime Video, and the Los Angeles Times.

“If you want to know how white-collar criminals get away with heinous crimes in broad daylight, read Call Me Commander, the shocking tale of a massive fraud that wasn’t discovered until some savvy journalists looked into the matter.”-Renato Mariotti, former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst “This is the saga of the phony ‘Commander Bobby Thompson,’ who paid esteemed lawyers and famous politicians to help him swindle tens of millions with a bogus veterans charity. It is also the inside story of tenacious reporters who brought down a colossal con and revealed the stunning true identity of the character behind it. The narrative sends a powerful message: now, more than ever, journalists are needed to help distinguish between what is real and what is fake in American life.”-Dan Casey, columnist for the Roanoke Times “A wild ride and timely reminder that grifters love to prey on patriotism.”-Spencer Ackerman, senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast “Call Me Commander is a riveting account of one of the most twisted con men ever to hustle a buck in Florida, and nobody can tell this tale better than veteran investigative reporter Jeff Testerman, who first exposed the scam, and broadcast journalist Daniel Freed, who discovered the conman's secrets after his capture.”-Craig Pittman, author of the New York Times bestseller Oh, Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country “Call Me Commander shows how [Bobby Thompson’s] scam was constructed and how it unraveled when reporters began investigating. It might also be a cautionary tale about future cons when there are no more local journalists to investigate these scams.”-Frank Abagnale, subject of the book and movie, Catch Me If You Can “Call Me Commander is a classic piece of investigative journalism. It’s the type of work we grew up admiring, but, regrettably-because of declining newspaper revenues-is fading into our past.”-Robert E. O’Neill, managing director of Freeh Group International Solutions and former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida